GARDENING NOTES.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume XLII, Issue XLII, 9 June 1923, Page 9

GARDENING NOTES.

(By "Waratah.")

FLOWER GARDEN

Chrysanthemums.—There are faw

haruy flowers that are of more importance in the garden than chrysanthemums. They bloom at a time when there . are few other flowers m bloom, and gardens in the autumn would look very bare without them. The chrysanthemum isa plant that will thrive with'very little care, but to produce flowers" of good quality it is necessary to give speoial care at certain seasons of the year, and the results will amply repay the grower for the time and attention given.' Of late years the enormous blooms that were at one time so greatly admired have gone out of fashion and the medium-sized bloom is now in favour. There is very little ditf'ere'rice in the method of growing a, plant with one large bloom and another carrying a number of medium-sized blooms; the general methods of culture are the same; the distinction lies in the. method of "stopping." '"'Stopping means pinching out the point of the leading shoot of a plant. This may be done .either while the plant is small, to induce a bushy growth, or at various stages later on, to cause the plants to develop their buds at the right time. Plants grown on \, the "one-bloom" system are not "stapp«d" ; they are grown on from cuttingi, and ail sidegrowths that appear are pinched, out to cause the crown bud to sAvell up and develop." Plants that are "stopped" at intervals during the summer produce a large number of shoots, with flower buds in early autumn. If all these buds are allowed to develop the flowers will be small, but by thinning out some of the buds, the flowers produced by the buds left will be much larger, because they are receiving more nutriment from the plant. The size of the flowers is governed to a great extent by the number of buds left to develop on the plant. The culture of good chrysanthemums commences as soon as the old plants have finished blooming. As soon as the flowers die the plants should be cut down to about a foot from the ground, weeds should be cleared away from the base and the soil lightly forked over. This is done to encourage , strong suckers to grow up from the roots. Some varieties send up large numbers of suckers, others only a few. If the disease known as "rust" affected the plants last season it is advisable to give'-a spraying with "lime-sulphur" solution to prevent the new growth being affected. The opinion of .wellknown growers of chrysanthemums is divided upon the question whether it is more advantageous to waif until the suckers root in the soil or to mack cuttings of them; but as first-class flowers are produced by plants grown by both means, the question seems of little importance. Many people leave the suckers produced by the old plants until spring before they .commence to propagate them. This' is a mistake, ... especially in varieties producing a large number of suckers, which by springtime have become overcrowded and snindlv. Cuttings taken from shoots of thTs description will not grow into first-class plants. The best way to prop.nprate chrysanthemums is to take the cuttings as soon as they can be obtained after the plants have done flowering. Many varieties will soon t^row up sufficient suckers for propaga. tion. As soon as these are three or four inches high, cut them off with a knife an inch or so below the surface of the Foil. Usually these will have a few roots attached, but, if not, roots are soon nroduced. Tf the suckers have not already formed roots, cut each one immediately below a ioint with a sharp knife and trim off the leaves from the lower half nf" the sucker. These cuttings should then be inserted about half

their length in pots or boxes of light sandy soil. Three-inch pots with, a single cutting are the best to use; four or live cuttings may be inserted round the side of sm-. or- 6in. pots, or a few inches apart if boxes are used. The soil about the cuttings should be made very firm. The boxes or pots of cuttings should be placed in a cold frame,' if Cmc is available, on a bed of ashesoofr f sand, and sparingly watered until the' cuttings have rooted and growth is active. A good substitute for a frame may be made by placing a few inches of i ashes or sand in a deep box, and some' sheets of glass placed on the top. Shade the frame lightly from strong sunshine! until the plants hold up the foliagg.! when they should have all the sun and air possible. The young plants can be' grown on in pots if desired, and if it is ' inteu4ed to do so the plants should be moved into oin. pots as soon as wellrooted, giving a better soil than that in which the cuttings were rooted, but not too rich; or they can be planted1 out in a nursery bed in a sunny posi-' tion, and planted in their permanent' quarters in the spring. By that time each plant should be strong and healthy, with a large mass of roots,' and will grow on into a sturdy plant with ordinary care and attention and' produce first-class flowers in due sea-' son. Good flowers can only be obtained on strong plants with plenty of roots.; A good beginning is of supreme im-' portance in the cultivation of chrysan-1 themums, and success can be achieved' only by choosing sturdy basal cuttings as early in the season as possible. i Current Work.—Continue the planting of trees, shrubs, roses, etc., when the soil is in suitable condition. Plant' out seedlings of hardy annuals, biennials and perennials. Thin out seedlings of annuals, etc.. that are to be allowed to remain in the position where sown. * Allow each plant sufficient room to develop to.full size. At this season of the year there are usually some im-1 provements to be carried out, and ad-1 vantage should be taken of fine periods' to do what may be necessary. It is rare that gardens are so perfectly arranged as to require no changes. Al' very common mistake when new gar-j dens are made is to plant shrubs" or trees too close together or in unsuitable' positions, and consequently they be-' come overcrowded. Where this has occurred, do not follow the usual plan, of clipping or cutting instead of thin-' nmg out. A mutilated tree or shrub' is never satisfactory, because its beauty! of form is not seen. It is far better' to remove some things altogether than ! to lon and cut to make room for all.! For ihis work there is no better time than the present, provided the weather is suitable. ' PRUNING SMALL FRUIT TREES-!

Gooseberries.—The gooseberry is one of tije most useful and the most generally .grown* of all small fruits.! very fine iruit can be obtained if the bushes receive proper care and atten tion. It is a common thing to see gooseberries that weigh two ounces i each at the large shows at Home. To! produce fruit of this quality the bushes must be well pruned and severe thin»mg of the fruit is necessary. The ob-: ject in pruning a goseberry* bush is to e«cure uniformity of growth and suffi-j cient space between the shots to enable' sun and air to have free access to all parts of the bush. The finest berries are produced 'on new strong growths,! and it should be the aim of the grower! to encourage a supply of such growths. L All weak and diseased wood must be cut away; shots that cross should be cut back to three eyes, and the remainder of the shoots thinned out to a few inches apart, retaining the strongest, which should have ii few inches: taken oir the points. Branches that are too close to the ground should be removed. Old bushes should be cut hard, back, if the shoots made last year, are weakly, to -put fresh vigour inta! their growth. It is advisable to plant' a few young bushes occasionally and to root out very old ones. Old bushes give a very poor yield of small and flavourless berries. ~ | ;. Black- Currants.^-The black currant produces its fruit upon" the young wood of the previous season, and"when, pruning, the strongest of these should ,„ be retained and all weakly shoots and " old ,worn-out wood cut 'dean away. Shorten young side growth back to about six inches in _ length; strong branches from, the base, only requirethe points "removed. Cut out all branches that cross each . other, and leave the bush as open as possible to admit the sun and air. |

Red and White Currants.—These fruit upon spurs on the old wood as well as the new. Cut out all weaka nd surplus growth. The thinning out should be done in the manner advised for black currants. As many as possible of the strong young^ shoots-points ing outwards should be retained; if they are very long and "whippy" they should be shortened back to half their' length? to prevent .damage by wind. Side shoots -should be shortened back to a. few inches (according to strength) to form fruit spurs.